Gallup: Federal Government Has Too Much Power … 54% – 36%

According to a recent Gallup poll, 54% say that the federal government has too much power,  while 36% say the correct amount of power and 8% of Americans are socialist who think the federal government has “too little” power. Sadly, too many Democrats do not think that the government has too much power because they were not the ones targeted by the Obama administration and the IRS. Gallup comment that there is little change. Little change?

Check out the difference of what Americans thought about the federal power when George W. Bush was president as compared to Barack Obama. The numbers are almost reversed. Also, although more than twice as many Republicans (76%) as Democrats (32%) think that the feds have too much power, more importantly, 58% of Independents side with the GOP. This rise can hardly be looked upon as a good trend by Obama and Democrats who believe in “Big” government. The pendulum may just be shifting back the other direction away from big government as Americans are growing weary of scandals and an entity like the IRS who is all-powerful with no restraint. This can hardly be welcome news for Democrats in 2014 or Hillary Clinton in 2016.

Americans’ views of federal power have become a renewed focal point in recent weeks with allegations that the IRS used its power to selectively audit certain types of organizations, and news reports of Justice Department investigations into Associated Press and Fox News records and emails. It does not appear, however, that these news stories have dramatically altered Americans’ views of the federal government’s power. The 54% who now say the federal government has “too much power” is in the same general range as it has been since 2005.

As would be expected, there is a major gulf between Republicans’ and Democrats’ views on this issue. More than twice as many Republicans (76%) as Democrats (32%) say the government has too much power, with a majority of independents coming down on the same side as Republicans.